However, for animal welfare ­charities like ours, the fallout from Christmas will last well in to next year.

A puppy seized from an illegal farm

Thousands of people across ­Scotland will have received a pet for a present on ­Christmas morning and this flies in the face of advice the ­Scottish SPCA has been offering for decades. We have a long-standing policy not to rehome young animals during the festive period.

As many people will discover in the days and weeks ahead, bringing an animal into the home comes with a hell of a lot of responsibility. Many will find it too much to handle and organisations like ours are left to pick up the pieces when that ­happens. The ‘Christmas rush’ for pets puts ­pressure on the Scottish SPCA in more ways than one.

Firstly, the obvious implications of having to deal with pets which are given up or – worse – abandoned. For at least the first quarter of 2019, our staff will be busy caring for animals purchased on a whim by people who have not given serious consideration to what they are taking on.

Secondly, the spike in demand for pets near Christmas fuels illegal puppy farming.

Our #SayNoToPuppyDealers ­campaign, which aims to bring this barbaric trade to an end, has ­gathered steam in 2018 but it is a demand-driven business and supply inevitably increases to meet this.

The trade puts profits before ­welfare and puppies bred on these farms often have medical or ­behavioural ­problems.

Our #SayNoToPuppyDealers ­campaign has secured the support of dozens of MSPs and more than 7,500 members of the public, but the key to bringing the trade to a halt for good is for each and every ­person to rigorously question where a puppy is from before they buy it. Responsible purchases will ultimately lead to responsible breeding.

There are tell-tale signs that a ­puppy is from a farm. For example, a ­seller may be evasive when it comes to questions on the mother and comes up with excuses to avoid a potential buyer visiting the house where the pups supposedly live.

The tireless efforts of everyone involved in the campaign has brought some successes and in 2019 the ­campaign will build on these to make further inroads into the trade.

By the time next Christmas comes around, I hope we are in a position where we can see a real tangible decline in the number of puppies ­purchased from farms.

For that to come to fruition, the onus is on the general public. Our advice is simple. Don’t buy a pet at Christmas.